CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Health officials once again urged young people in West Virginia to get the COVID-19 vaccine as cases rise increase in that population demographic.
According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR)’s COVID-19 figures from Friday, the age groups of 10-19 (19.53%) and 20-29 (17.86%) have recorded the most virus cases in the state since March 19.
In the state’s most populous county, Kanawha County, the 10-19 age group have recorded the most virus cases in the past three weeks at over 19%, ahead of 40-49 (17.82%) and 20-29 (16.47%). Dr. Sherri Young, health officer and executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (KCHD) said fewer cases among the older population are likely due to vaccination efforts.
“We need to be diligent as things open up and continue to wear our masks, keep six feet away from other people, avoid congregate settings and frequently wash our hands,” Young said in a news release. “Get a COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available to you. Be mindful that kids under age 16 cannot be vaccinated. Be careful with kids playing sports.”
As of Thursday, there were 11 open Kanawha school COVID-19 outbreaks affecting 75 students and five staff members, the KCHD said. An outbreak is defined as two more COVID-19 cases that are epidemiologically linked. The health department said many school outbreaks are tied to kids playing sports.
Clay Marsh, state coronavirus czar noted during his press briefing the virus is spreading more rapidly on sports teams and extracurricular groups in schools. He said the best way to halt the rise is to get a shot in schools. More than a dozen school systems have already held vaccination clinics since Gov. Jim Justice expanded eligibility for a vaccine to those 16 years of age and older on March 22.
“The benefits of getting immunization for the COVID-19 virus include the ability to continue to play sports, to stay healthy, to not have to quarantine. Today, if one person on a team gets sick then everybody needs to sit out who has been connected with each other,” Marsh said.
“In a fully vaccinated population, that is no longer necessary.”
Marsh also urged the young population to get vaccinated to slow the spread of variant cases in West Virginia. Justice said the South African variant is now in West Virginia and there is considerable growth in the UK variant, which was first detected in Kanawha County in the past week.
“We recognize that these variants are more infectious, can spread easier. We see the spread of infection mainly in our younger population,” Marsh said.
Marsh spoke about the patterns in Israel with COVID-19, where nearly two-thirds of the population is immunized. According to Marsh, there were 7,200 virus cases a week in January and now around 300-350 nationwide per week in that country.
He said the state can learn from other countries about the importance of vaccination regardless of age.
“The older part of our population is dying more commonly from being infected with COVID-19. Our younger part of our population is spreading COVID-19 more quickly, but it is the rest of our population that is also at risk in developing long-term effects due to COVID-19, being hospitalized or dying,” Marsh said.
Gov. Jim Justice also urged young people to get vaccinated during his COVID-19 briefing on Friday. According to the DHHR numbers on Friday, 645,541 people have received at least one vaccine dose, including 99,517 between the age of 16 and 34, 15.33%.
433,823 people in West Virginia have been fully vaccinated from COVID-19. The 1 millionth COVID-19 vaccine dose was administered in West Virginia this week.
“Parents and grandparents, please tell your kids we have to get them vaccinated. Help us get them vaccinated. It’ll be really important. We don’t want to be late and we don’t want to be sorry,” Justice said.